A new guardian typically has numerous questions on each little change they discover of their child.
“Is the infant sleeping sufficient?”
“Is my child feeding sufficient?”
“Is my child’s poop regular?”
“Is my child’s weight proper for his or her age?”
“The newborn isn’t latching correctly, what ought to I do?”
“How a lot method ought to I give my child?”
“My child is crying inconsolably. What ought to I do?”
Armed with a battery of questions, most new mother and father are uncertain the place to seek out the proper solutions. Nearly every little thing looks like an emergency, and it isn’t at all times possible to hurry to the hospital, particularly for these in rural areas. Ideally, mother and father would have entry to a paediatrician who might assess the scenario and advise on the following steps.
Dr Sumitra Meena witnessed this want firsthand throughout her residency. She incessantly encountered mother and father within the hospital who have been both overly anxious or had arrived too late — by which era their baby’s situation had worsened. She would typically want that these mother and father had reached out to a paediatrician over the cellphone simply six hours earlier, to assist guarantee quicker restoration for his or her youngsters.
Hailing from a village in Rajasthan, Dr Sumitra was no stranger to the issues individuals in distant areas face in accessing healthcare. To deal with these challenges and supply immediate care for kids, she began Babynama, a digital paediatric care platform, in 2022. Her husband, Ashish Meena, an IIT Bombay graduate with over a decade of expertise in startups, joined the corporate just a few months later as co-founder, quitting his job to help the mission.
Previously two years, they’ve helped practically two lakh mother and father entry well timed care and establish early indicators of crucial situations akin to respiratory misery, epilepsy, autism, and
ADHD in youngsters, guaranteeing well timed medical intervention and higher outcomes.
Offering child healthcare around the clock
Born in a village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, Dr Sumitra, 35, had skilled tragedy in her circle of relatives as a baby. Her sister had handed away simply hours after delivery as she was delivered at house, and so they lacked entry to rapid healthcare.
This private loss motivated Dr Sumitra, then a younger lady, to pursue a profession in drugs. As the primary graduate in her household, she labored onerous to finish her MBBS and MD in Pediatrics from Woman Hardinge Medical Faculty in New Delhi. She then accomplished her three-year senior residency at Safdarjung Hospital, an expertise that deepened her want to do extra.
She needed to assist mother and father keep away from exposing their youngsters to a hospital atmosphere unnecessarily.
“I’d see two varieties of fogeys on the emergency room: those that have been overly anxious and rushed in, and people who got here too late when their baby was already very unwell. I at all times felt that each conditions might be improved if mother and father spoke to a paediatrician first,” Dr Sumitra tells The Higher India.
“Many mother and father wait till morning to go to the hospital as a result of they don’t need junior medical doctors treating their child. Throughout these six to eight hours, the infant’s situation can worsen. What if they may communicate to a paediatrician at 1 am?,” she provides.
When Dr Sumitra embraced motherhood 4 years in the past, she observed her husband asking the identical questions that plague any new guardian’s thoughts. Having a paediatrician as his spouse helped allay his fears and saved him from standing in queues on the hospital.
This impressed Dr Sumitra to create a digital paediatric care platform that will immediately reply the questions of fogeys.
After months of analysis, she began a WhatsApp group in 2022. By way of phrase of mouth and sharing it with sufferers and mates, the group shortly started to develop. Initially, Dr. Sumitra managed all of the calls and messages herself, providing the service without spending a dime. Quickly, mother and father started sharing it with others.
“I’d get calls from all around the nation, together with distant villages from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and extra. From 250 members, we grew to 500 over just a few months. Quickly, I used to be dealing with greater than 1,000 questions each day,” says the Gurugram resident.
As affected person numbers elevated, Dr Sumitra onboarded further medical doctors to offer round the clock help. Babynama now has 50 paediatricians on board who supply chat help until 11 pm and name help 24/7. She additionally began considering of how to achieve extra individuals, thus creating pages on Instagram and YouTube to teach mother and father.
To assist maintain the service, she finally launched a small session charge of Rs 100 per name. By March 2023, with over 1,000 each day queries and 1,000 members, Babynama expanded to a full-fledged web site and software.
Making paediatric care accessible: How Babynama works
Initially providing 24/7 help for brand spanking new mother and father, Babynama has since added new programmes to satisfy the evolving wants of fogeys.
“Mothers started asking questions on breastfeeding, beginning solids, nutritious meals, and sleep. To unravel these queries, we onboarded lactation specialists, nutritionists, and sleep specialists, and created programmes across the similar,” says Dr Sumitra.
Babynama’s plans begin at Rs 499. The Important Care plan, priced at Rs 1,999, supplies entry to a WhatsApp group with paediatricians, 24/7 video consultations, and month-to-month milestone check-ups. Their Holistic Care plan, which incorporates entry to a devoted paediatrician in a non-public group together with breastfeeding and diet help, is obtainable for Rs 3,999.
Moreover, they provide specialised programmes such because the Solids Introduction Course, Breastfeeding Coaching Program, Child Diet Program, and Sleep Coaching Program. The Holistic Care programme stays their bestseller, with 7,200 paid prospects, whereas over two lakh individuals have attended their free webinars. Their Instagram web page has garnered over 4 and a half lakh followers.
Manisha, from Mahendragarh, Haryana, was in the hunt for a superb physician after her child’s delivery. Dwelling in a distant city, she explains that she must journey 150 km to see a professional paediatrician. After discovering Babynama on Instagram, she joined their WhatsApp group when her child was simply 13 days outdated and has remained a consumer for over a yr.
“We don’t have a professional physician close by, and travelling for 4 hours is just not sensible with a new child. However Babynama has been a lifesaver — I’ve been in a position to get all my queries answered immediately, from breastfeeding and colic points to discovering the proper child merchandise to forestall rashes,” says Manisha.
Mallika, a first-time mom from Indore, echoes Manisha’s sentiments. Though she has entry to certified medical doctors, she notes that it’s onerous to ask each query throughout a go to to a paediatrician, as time is usually restricted. “With Babynama, I can ask each single doubt and get an instantaneous reply. Whether or not it’s about progress monitoring, milestones, weight checks, or the proper time and dosage for paracetamol, each concern is addressed. We have now the freedom to ask something, which is nice,” shares Mallika.
For Dr Sumitra, the purpose is to offer the proper sources to oldsters, whether or not it’s a new child or a five-year-old, all below one roof. “Our mission is to make high quality healthcare accessible, irrespective of which nook of the nation you’re in. I don’t need anybody to lose their baby like my mother and father did because of a scarcity of amenities,” she emphasises.
Babynama additionally plans to make its providers extra reasonably priced, aiming to achieve all sections of society. With the assistance of AI (Synthetic Intelligence), they’re constructing a chatbot on their app, which can have solutions to widespread questions.
“Mother and father can merely obtain the app, ask a query, and get a solution. In case they want additional help, they will guide a session. We’re planning to launch plans ranging from Rs 99 per 30 days,” she says.
For Dr Sumitra, probably the most satisfying half has been serving to mother and father. She recounts her first name, the place she recognized a baby with autism.
“The decision was from a guardian in Rajasthan, an MBBS pupil who felt one thing was flawed together with his baby, however consultations with eight medical doctors had led nowhere. A number of questions in, I realised the infant was autistic and suggested him to start out remedy. He quickly moved to Delhi since remedy wasn’t accessible in his village,” she shares.
Three months later, she obtained a name from the kid’s mom. “With tears in her eyes, she referred to as me an angel. Her baby was now thriving and interacting with different children. There was a stark enchancment in him after remedy. It was probably the greatest days of my life,” says Dr Sumitra.
Wanting ahead, she hopes to develop Babynama’s attain to extra areas, in order that it may be on the forefront of revolutionising accessible healthcare all through the nation.
Edited by Khushi Arora, Photographs Courtesy Ashish Meena
